Dadey Jumps Into Ted Cruz Debate

For the past few days we have seen dueling press releases from the state Democratic Party and the State Republican party over the announcement that conservative Texas US Senator Ted Cruz will be headlining the State GOP’s annual fundraiser.

First the Democrats, in a statement by Party Executive Director Rodney Capel, blasted Cruz as anti-New York because he voted against the Sandy Relief Bill. He went on to also say he is anti-women, anti-gay rights, and anti-immigrant, and they called on Republicans to boycott the fundraiser. State Democratic Party Co-Chair Keith Wright echoed those comments on the show last night.

The State GOP fired back calling this hysterics. And taking a chance to attack Cuomo for his push to pass the Reproductive Health Act.

“Mr. Capel’s hysterics notwithstanding, the truly extreme position is the one taken by Governor Cuomo in his State of the State address, where he called for passage of the so-called “Reproductive Health Act,” which would expand late-term abortions in New York, even up to the day of a baby’s birth,” NYS GOP Chairman Ed Cox said in at statement.

Now often outspoken Onondaga County GOP Chair Tom Dadey is getting in the fray. He just fired off this statement accusing Democrats of creating a distraction from the governor’s record on the upstate economy.

“Whether it’s Keith Wright, Rodney Capel or Governor Cuomo himself, New York Democrats have no business choosing who speaks and who doesn’t speak at the State GOP’s annual dinner,” Dadey said. “This attack is designed to distract from their failure to turn around the Upstate economy. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Dadey goes on to attack Cuomo for his failure to green light high volume hydraulic fracturing in New York State.

“The Governor should stop hiding behind the endless studies and approve hydrofracking, just like President Obama’s EPA and the State of Pennsylvania have already done. It’s governmental malpractice to let another generation of Upstate New Yorkers leave this state in search of a job and the opportunity that comes with it when the potential for an economic resurgence is right at our fingertips,” Dadey said.

This type of back and forth between the state political parties has been pretty rare in the past two years. The state Democratic party, which is historically and for all intents and purposes controlled by the Governor, has generally avoided direct confrontations with their Republican counterparts.

Meanwhile the Republican party and Chairman Ed Cox only started attacking Governor Cuomo on a consistent basis in the past few months – focusing heavily on the upstate economy.